Repsol YPF

Even though the terms roof window, skylight and roof lights are – usually – indistinctly used when talking about glass windows or openings on the ceiling of a house, the difference between roof windows and the other two types of windows lies in their format and in the sloping degree of the roofs in which they are placed. Roof windows are perfect for garrets and rooms with sloping ceilings in the last floor of a chalet. They are usually designed to fit in tile or metal roofs in this type of houses and they are usually sold with all the necessary installation accessories. The substitution of the word skylight by the word roof window is not wrong, for the former is defined as “a window on the ceiling or on the upper part of a wall, which usually overflow towards the interior”. 

As to roof lights, they adapt to all types of flat roofs because their curbs may be round, rectangular or square, but then installing them is more complicated. They provide more natural light since the glass surface is usually bigger than that of windows or skylights. 

Tubular skylights, the great revolution 

Tubular skylights are rather new in the market, since the first model launched is not even 20 years old. They are round, small structures consisting of fixed or flexible tubes that transport natural light towards the interior of the room in which they are placed. Diameter standards range from 20-25cm. to 50-54cm. and their illumination scope may be 15 and 8 metres deep, respectively. They are perfect for toilets, corridors, dressing rooms and dark areas, and in spite of their reduced size, they let in a lot of light. 

The first company to present this product was the Australian company Solatube, and the launching of the innovative tubular skylight back in 1989 provoked a market revolution. This market revolution was due to its manifest utilitarian characteristics in the development of bioclimatic architecture and to the beneficial effect of natural light upon people, but also to its contribution to energy saving and ecology. These structures are made of a material called Spectralight Infinity, patented and owned by Solatube, and their most outstanding advantages are their price (cheaper than other similar solutions), their easy installation, their high performance and durability, their maintenance (it can be cleaned with rainwater) and the fact that their sealing film prevents water, insects or dust from getting in. 
At present tubular skylights are manufactured by more companies, but we advise you to purchase only the models made by well-known firms, with a 10-year guarantee. 

The perfect choice

If you are thinking of installing a system to optimise the use of natural zenith light (the one coming from above), you should have an expert visit your house and tell you about the best option for you in the market. Some might not adapt to the sloping of the roofing in your building or their installation might be too complicated. Listen to the expert and do not get obsessed with those proposals that look amazing in a photograph, yet, when implemented upon your ceiling, prove to have more inconveniences than advantages. In general and as the number of manufacturers of these products grows, those rooms where it is not possible to install a roof window, due to the lack of space beneath the ceiling , are perfect for tubular skylights. Halls, corridors, dark, gloomy toilets are the most adequate areas for this type of structures. Yet, those sitting rooms, bedrooms and wide kitchens in which it is possible to place a roof window, specialists do not think it twice. In this case, it is advisable to install a roof window for it will provide the room with more light and ventilation, given its bigger size. 

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